The present invention is directed to beverage compositions comprising a calcium and magnesium source. The beverage compositions are readily incorporated into a daily diet of foods and beverages, and are palatable to the consumer.
Various nutritional products are available in the marketplace, containing numerous vitamins, minerals, or other nutritionals, all of which provide the mammalian system with the essential nutrients for sustaining life and maintaining health. For example, vitamin/mineral supplements, available in tablet or pill form, are particularly prevalent. However, such supplements can be undesirable for various reasons. For example, compliance with a supplement regimen is often compromised, since these supplements are not consistently incorporated into the mammalian diet. Additionally, supplements are often difficult or undesirable to ingest, due to their size, flavor, and/or odor.
Therefore, among other reasons, it is most desirable to incorporate nutritional supplementation within the daily diet of the mammal, i e., within the food and beverage products the mammal regularly consumes. Delivering such supplemented food and beverage products has, in many cases, been an arduous task. This is primarily related to the undesirable flavor profile of the vitamin or mineral used to supplement the product, often compounded by the undesirable color or physical/chemical instability of the vitamin or mineral. and Slimfast(copyright) are advertised to promote nutritional health through the delivery of a convenient, highly nutritional product. In products containing milk base solids, such as milks and shakes, efficient flavor masking by the milk base solids allows extensive supplementation of the product. That is, the undesirable flavor of the vitamin or mineral is effectively masked due to the heavy flavor or other character of the delivery vehicle. In such cases, providing vitamin or mineral supplements having an optimized flavor profile may not be important.
However, it is unacceptable to heavily supplement only products having a milk-based character. Many mammals are intolerant to such milk-based products and are therefore precluded from ingesting such products altogether. Other mammals find such products unacceptable for various reasons, including the presence of milk base solids and/or the consistency of the product. Additionally, certain age groups tend to enjoy milk-based products more than others (for example, adult humans versus young children). It is therefore important to provide other types of beverage products which provide necessary nutritional supplementation but are devoid of the foregoing problems.
Fruit juices and bottled waters (flavored or unflavored) are beverage vehicles which are widely accepted by consumers. Such beverages tend to be refreshing, as well as light in flavor. Recently, fruit juice beverage manufacturers have recognized the benefits to supplementing fruit juice products with calcium, for example, 100% orange juice supplemented with calcium to deliver milk-level calcium (i.e., approximately 30% USRDI of calcium). Various calcium sources have been utilized with varying degrees of success in terms of flavor impact and bioavailability. However, further supplementation of fruit juice beverages, i.e., beyond calcium and common vitamins such as vitamins A and C, has not been widely explored. Additionally, bottled waters have been minimally supplemented due to their absence, or minimization, of flavor. A primary reason is likely related to the difficulty of increasing supplementation, particularly with undesirable tasting minerals, in these lightly flavored products such as fruit juices.
Additionally, certain minerals such as magnesium must be delivered in relatively high amounts in order that the supplementation is nutritionally meaningful (ie., at least about 5% of a recommended daily intake). For example, the current U.S. Recommended Daily Intake of magnesium, which is important for building strong bones, is 400 milligrams daily. Therefore, the difficulty of supplementing a fruit juice or water product with a mineral such as magnesium is further increased, since the undesirable flavor is augmented by the necessarily high level of the mineral present in the product.
Surprisingly, the present inventors have discovered unique combinations of calcium and magnesium sources which, when incorporated into a beverage matrix which is substantially free of milk base solids, are quite palatable. These combinations allow the supplementation of calcium and magnesium at high levels, including levels below, at, or exceeding recommended daily intakes. Thus, the present invention overcomes the deficiencies of known products and provides vehicles for extensive supplementation of beverage products. These and other benefits of the present invention are described herein.
The present invention is directed to compositions comprising a calcium source and a magnesium source. The inventors have discovered unique combinations of these sources which, when delivered in a fruit juice beverage matrix at amounts which are nutritionally meaningful, are surprisingly palatable. Accordingly, the present inventors have discovered compositions which deliver nutritionally meaningful levels of calcium and magnesium, without compromising palatability.
In particular, the present invention relates to beverage compositions comprising:
(a) a calcium source comprising a form selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, solubilized species thereof, and mixtures thereof;
(b) at least about 20 milligrams of a magnesium source per reference serving of the composition;
wherein the compositions are substantially free of milk base solids.
In an another embodiment of the present invention, beverage compositions are described, comprising:
(a) at least about 50 milligrams of a calcium source per reference serving of the composition;
(b) at least about 20 milligrams of a magnesium source per reference serving of the composition, wherein the magnesium source comprises a form selected from the group consisting of magnesium carbonate, magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate, solubilized species thereof, and mixtures thereof;
wherein the compositions are substantially free of milk base solids.